What does it really look like to uproot your life, move across the world, and begin again in a place where you don’t speak the language, don’t understand the systems, and don’t know a soul? For my friend Kassie Borreson, a professional photographer (👀 check out her gorgeous travel photos) and author of Photographer’s Miscellany, the answer includes a global pandemic, a pregnancy, two elderly cats in business class, and a relocation package that dropped her family into the heart of Switzerland — a country famous for precision, mountains, chocolate, and more rules than most of us can keep up with.
But Kassie wasn’t exactly starting from scratch in Zürich. Years earlier, she and her husband had lived in Heidelberg, Germany, and loved the rhythm of European life — the culture, the travel, the ease of moving between countries. When his job offered an opportunity to move abroad again, they said yes, knowing that this chapter would look very different from their first. This time, they were older. Wiser. Expecting their first child. And about to learn what it means to build community, navigate a new language, and raise a baby in a country with its own traditions, norms, and unexpected gifts.
Our conversation goes far beyond the logistics of an international move. Kassie opens up about what surprised her, what challenged her, and what ultimately made Switzerland feel like home — from the shockingly generous postpartum care to the gentle independence instilled in Swiss kids, from the spotless streets of Zürich to mountain weekends in Vals and storybook strolls through Bern.
This episode is a thoughtful, funny, honest look at what it takes to start a new chapter abroad — and what you discover about yourself in the process.
🎧 Click on the above link to listen to the interview or listen on “Mixtape Travels” on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
🇨🇭 Why They Chose Switzerland
Kassie and her husband had lived in Germany years earlier and always imagined doing another international chapter. When his company offered a relocation to Zürich, it felt like the universe nudging them forward.
They wanted a cultural reset, easier access to travel, and the experience of raising their future child in a different part of the world. They weren’t thinking about diapers or daycare yet — just the adventure of immersing themselves in a new culture and all the personal growth that happens when you uproot your life on purpose.
🚚 The Adventure (and Stress) of an International Move
Their move had everything:
a global pandemic
a pregnant Kassie
two elderly cats (fully unamused)
temporary housing
a competitive Swiss apartment market
and zero idea what life in Zürich would actually feel like
Switzerland doesn’t have Amazon, furniture is expensive, and more than half the country rents — so finding a place felt like a full-time job. After months of searching, they landed in a dream apartment in an 1850s building with exposed beams and slanted ceilings. A true “welcome to Europe” moment after weeks of uncertainty and a 24-hour cat-transport saga.
👶 Becoming a Mom in Switzerland
Kassie’s birth story is peak Swiss: organized, calm, and almost shockingly idyllic. Her daughter was breech, which meant a planned C-section — and yes, they took the tram to the hospital. Only in Switzerland!
She had an all-female medical team and a comforting, structured, totally drama-free experience. But the real standout was postpartum care. Kassie received 16 at-home midwife visits, fully covered by insurance (incredible, right?!). Midwives came regularly to check on her, weigh the baby, help with breastfeeding, and make sure she wasn’t drowning in new-mom exhaustion.
Sixteen. It’s the kind of support that every new parent deserves — and the part Kassie still talks about with the most gratitude.
⚙️ Life in a Country Built on Efficiency
If Switzerland has a tagline, it might be: “Relax — we already handled that.”
Zürich runs with almost magical precision. The streets are spotless. Trains arrive so promptly that a five-minute delay feels like a scandal. People routinely leave laptops and phones on cafe tables to hold their spot.
“The joke is they’ll come back and the phone will be upgraded and they’ll have a Rolex sitting there.”
When they arrived, Kassie and her husband set up their bank accounts, residency paperwork, and phone plans in a single afternoon. Even the bank appointment came with cappuccinos and chocolates in a private office overlooking Bahnhofplatz.
Only Switzerland could make opening a bank account feel like checking into a spa.
🗣️ Adjusting to Swiss German
Even though Kassie and her husband had studied German in Heidelberg, Switzerland delivered a plot twist. Swiss German isn’t a cute variation — it’s a completely different spoken language that even native Germans struggle to understand.
Everything official is still in High German, which helps, and English is widely used. But Kassie admits that speaking a foreign language can make you feel just slightly off — like a version of yourself missing some of your sparkle. Anyone who’s lived abroad knows that feeling intimately.
🤝 Building Community (Slowly, Then All at Once)
Community didn’t magically appear — she had to build it piece by piece.
Early on, Kassie joined Zurich Boss Ladies, a network for women entrepreneurs. It became an anchor and eventually led to her leadership role. She also volunteered with an NGO, Action for Women, for which she’s also on the board. Later, she became close friends with a few other parents in the neighborhood and at her daughter’s Kita. All of those together became the foundation of a strong, multilayered community she has developed in Zürich today. Yet, the relationships and friendships took time, they didn’t come instantly.
It took nearly two years before Zürich felt like a place where she had “her people.” Now, four years in, she has real friendships, routines, and a sense of belonging. This is the part of expat life no one posts on Instagram — but everyone goes through.
🧒 Raising a Child the Swiss Way
Switzerland is famously safe, and that shapes childhood in ways that surprise Americans.
Kids walk to kindergarten alone starting at around age five. Not as a quirky tradition — it’s a cultural expectation supported by an entire community. Kassie regularly sees schoolchildren confidently navigating the tram system or walking in groups with tiny backpacks and total independence.
Playgrounds are also intentionally bold. The slides are higher. The structures are more challenging. The philosophy is: kids learn confidence by doing.
It’s different, yes — but Kassie loves that her daughter is growing up learning physical courage and self-reliance.
🏔️ Swiss Getaways, Chocolate & Everyday Joy
When Kassie isn’t navigating language quirks or marveling at the efficiency of the tram system, she’s exploring Switzerland’s quieter corners — or eating chocolate. Truly elite chocolate.
Vals: A Mountain Retreat Worth Daydreaming About
For her birthday last year, her family visited Vals (see Kassie’s beautiful photos here) a tiny village tucked into the Graubünden Alps. It’s remote, quiet, and breathtaking — the kind of place that makes you whisper instead of talk. Think dramatic peaks, crisp air, and the feeling that time has stopped. It became one of their most memorable escapes since moving abroad.
Bern: A Postcard-Perfect Capital
Closer to home is Bern, one of Kassie’s favorite small cities in Switzerland. She loves its medieval charm, cozy pace, and elegant old town that feels a bit like Heidelberg — polished but warm, historic but lived-in. It’s her go-to recommendation for anyone visiting Switzerland beyond Zürich.
Swiss Chocolate: A Lifestyle, Not a Treat
When asked to choose her favorite Swiss food, she didn’t hesitate: chocolate.
Not the mass-market stuff — the local shops crafting fresh truffles each morning. The milk chocolate that somehow hits differently when you’re eating it steps from the factory. The airport boxes you buy “as a gift” and then eat before landing.
Chocolate has become one of Kassie’s love languages with Switzerland.
What She Misses About California
Aside from family and friends of course - the produce. Full stop. Dry-farmed early girl tomatoes. Bay Area farmers markets. Sungolds. All the citrus. Dark leafy greens that taste like dirt. Peaches that taste like summer. And of course: the ocean. Lake Zürich is lovely, but it’s not the Pacific.
The Soundtrack of Her Swiss Life
Her pick for the song that best captures their life in Zürich absolutely charmed me: the Frog and Toad theme song from Apple TV.
It’s whimsical and warm, rooted in companionship and curiosity — exactly what this season of life has been for her family. A chapter defined equally by adventure and tenderness.
❤️ Final Thoughts
Talking with Kassie reminded me that moving abroad isn’t just a change of address — it’s a full recalibration of who you are and how you live. It’s the discomfort of not knowing what you’re doing paired with the thrill of figuring it out. It’s finding joy in the unfamiliar and pride in the small wins, like mastering a new transit system or finally understanding a Swiss-German greeting. Kassie’s journey is proof that home isn’t something you stumble into; it’s something you build, slowly and deliberately, through community, curiosity, and a willingness to let yourself be changed by a new place.
If you’ve ever wondered what it might be like to start a chapter somewhere far from where you began — or if you simply love a story about courage, culture, and creating a life that feels deeply your own — I think you’ll really feel this one.
p.s. Don’t miss Kassie’s recommendations for visiting the beautiful city of Zürich here.
Meet Kassie Borreson
Kassie Borreson is an American commercial and editorial photographer living in Zürich, Switzerland with her husband, Andy, and daughter, Edie, who is three. A native of Napa, CA, Kassie lived for thirteen years in San Francisco and four in Germany before moving to Zurich with her family two years ago. She loves to bake sourdough bread, host dinner parties, travel with her family, tend to her many plants, enjoy a cappuccino and a good book at home, visit galleries with friends, and try new restaurants in town. You can follow Kassie and her beautiful writing and photography on her Substack, Photographer’s Miscellany.
